Franklin softball has made a habit of doing things the hard way so far this season — but it's been working.

On Sunday, the Grizzlies rallied from a big early deficit in the opener and nearly squandered a lead in the nightcap, but they came up with big plays at the right time in both, defeating Aurora by 14-11 and 8-7 scores at Behrens Field.

With the sweep, the Griz improve to 5-1 on the season. Three of those wins have been by one-run margins.

"They just don't give up," Franklin coach Britt Harvey said. "Not a single one of them went up there with a swing to win the game. They went up there as a unit from top to bottom, and everybody put the ball through, through, through, and they just kept stacking them on to each other."

In game one, Franklin fell into an 8-1 hole after the visiting Spartans got a two-out grand slam in the first inning and added four more in the top of the third. The bottom of that inning, though, saw the Grizzlies bring 14 batters to the plate and score nine runs to take a 10-8 lead. Jaylee Fansler delivered the biggest blows with a three-run homer, while Ruth Kaiser and Zoey Kugelman each had two-run hits and Jasmine Day added an RBI single.

Aurora went back in front with three runs in the top of the sixth before the Griz tied it in the bottom half when Kaiser scored on Rylan DeHart's sacrifice fly.

Franklin hurler Lauren Duncan pitched a scoreless seventh to set the stage for a walkoff win. After Kugelman led off with a double and Fansler was walked with one out, Kendall Lowry sent an 0-1 pitch over the left-field wall to seal it.

Harvey called Lowry's shot the biggest swing of the day, and not just because it was a game-winner.

"What Kendall did was step up to her responsibility to protect (Fansler)," the coach said. "Because he wasn't going to pitch to her, and that's going to happen all season. They're going to try to pitch around Jay. And Kendall stepped up and said, 'Do it. Don't pitch to her — guess who's coming next.'"

The Grizzlies hammered out 18 hits in the opener, led by Kugelman and Kaiser with four apiece and three from Lowry.

Game two saw Franklin take a quick three-run lead on a Fansler solo home run in the first inning and a two-run double by Liv Staigl in the second. The Spartans got on the board with two runs in the top of the fourth, but the Griz immediately answered back with five. Fansler doubled to score Day, then she came home on a base hit by Kali Laycock. Staigl capped the inning with a three-run blast to dead center to make it 8-2.

From there, Franklin held on for dear life. Aurora scored one run in the fifth and then added another two-out grand slam in the sixth to make it a one-run game, but Kugelman came on in relief to record the final four outs and save the win for starter Rylan Young.

Laycock went 3 for 4 in the win, while Staigl (five RBIs), Fansler, Day and Brooke Lipperd each contributed two hits.

The Grizzlies will be back at Behrens Field this coming weekend for a Saturday doubleheader against Adrian (March 21, 1 and 3 p.m.).